


Swim

by dawons



Category: SF9 (Band)
Genre: A LOT of Angst, Alternate Universe - Artificial Intelligence, Angst, Based on a movie trailer I saw once like a year ago (Upgraded), Chanhee is a student, Gangs, Gore, Heavy Angst, Inseong is a waiter, Jaeyoon is a doctor, Juho is an AI, Juho's just being himself, Kinda confusing but, M/M, Rowoon is a mess, Rowoon/Chani if you squint, Sad, Sanghyuk fucking hates Youngbin, Sanghyuk is an AI, Seokwoo is an AI, Slow Burn, Taeyang is a florist among other things, Very minor smut towards the end, Violence, Youngbin/Sanghyuk, Youngkyun is a student, Youngkyun is also just doing his thing, Youngkyun is chilling, just guys being dudes, youngbin is a gang leader
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-23
Updated: 2019-09-13
Packaged: 2019-09-25 05:42:45
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 13,914
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17115512
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dawons/pseuds/dawons
Summary: "i'm dangerous," juho tries to persuade inseong to take a step back, to reassess the horrible decision he's making by staying in the other's company. the air between them crackles with tension. from somewhere deep inside himself, juho feels the urge to run. inseong grabs his hands, bringing them up to his cheeks. their eyes meet and he nestles his face further into the other's palms, sheltering himself from the cold.inseong opts to ignore juho's paranoia, instead sighing out into the frigid air. he smiles as he closes his eyes, and the snow coming down around them seemingly melts in his presence. the flakes that are bold enough to stay in tact float down lazily into his unkempt brown hair. "will you stay with me tonight?"





	1. Chapter 1

**Hello.**

**I was informed of your post early this morning, and would be interested in hiring you.**

**Though** **my job for you would be dangerous** **(e** **xperimental,** **if you’d like to call it that),** **I'm willing to offer you upwards of 900,000** **USD** **for your services.** **This price can be negotiated, if you feel it is unfit for the job I’ll be tasking you with** **\- what I've offered before is a** **simple** **starting price.** **I’ll take into consideration** **that you’re a student** **and offer you safe housing if you’re to take my offer.**

**I'm based in Seoul;** **I assume you are as well,** **since I’** **ve blocked** **posts** **from locations** **that are** **n’t** **local to me. If you're interested in taking this job, please meet me at XXXX,XXXXX on SATURDAY at 6:00PM. [LINK].** **T** **he reservation is under the name 'KIM Y.B.'.**

**Sincerely, Y.B.,K**

  


 

Juho stares at the screen with a disbelieving smile on his face. A chill creeps up his spine, settling over him as he reads over the email he’d received once again. He hadn’t expected to receive a real answer, let alone one so serious. All he’d done was post that he was desperate and looking for a job; so why would something seemingly so dire appear?

Though, he _had_ posted on a forum that he could only access through some website he’d been linked by a group of friends he’d made in middle school. He’d seen it all there; drugs, tips on washing money, even someone looking to buy a rare, endangered Japanese beetle in exchange for what must have been his entire life savings. Juho had found the site fun, stuck around for a few years.

Over time, he’d made his own posts, and been introduced to countless other sites just like the first. Though, from the first to the last, they only got darker. Hidden camera footage, live videos of people being robbed, and much worse that he’d rather not remember flooded those sites.

Before he’d been careful enough to protect his IP address, he’d gone onto one of the live streams to see what it was about. His own camera had opened, and a second screen appeared next to the first with his laptop’s footage playing.

He’d destroyed that laptop, bought another. But, he had gone back to the darker, untamed side of the internet. Most of it wasn’t bad, just more drugs and illegal activity, but something about seeing something so few people were seeing excited him.

The email in front of him leaves a hollow feeling in his chest as he reads it, over and over again in an attempt to make sense of the words his brain can’t process. This could easily be a joke, absolutely, but it felt so real.

Part of him knows that it’s real when he clicks the link, sitting up on the edge of his bed.

He pales when a homepage for a high-end restaurant pops up on his screen. "This isn't real," he reaches for his phone., eyeing the brightly, happily displayed _CONTACT US_ widget underneath a picture of the restaurant’s lobby."No…" Everything feels so surreal about the situation.

Juho hadn’t even mentioned that he was a student in his post. He had said he was looking for work, for anything that could keep him going or to pay his rent for a while. How Kim knew he was a student was beyond him. Clearly, the programs he’d installed and the firewalls he’d spent hours building up to protect him had been easily outclassed and broken by whatever the other had. This was bad. Very, very bad.

Juho slaps a hand over his laptop's camera as he grabs his phone, putting in the restaurant's phone number as his panicked fingers tremble. He's too shaky to put the device on his ear, so he hits speaker, swallowing thickly when somebody finally picks up after three rings.

" _Hello_?" A woman's voice cuts through the silent darkness of Juho's apartment, and he cringes. He feels as if the nightlife outside his apartment is about to swallow him whole, the densely packed crowds and bright neon lights of the bars seeming so intimidating though it was just standard city shit.

"Hey!" Juho tries to make his voice sound as lighthearted as he can, as if he doesn’t feel somebody’s hiding in his closet with a knife. "I was wondering if I could just review a reservation?"

He can hear the smile in the woman's voice as she clicks away on a computer on her side. He wonders why that is, trying to take his mind off of what’s scaring him the most in his current situation. " _Of course! What's the name, please_?" He hates how collected she sounds.

"Uh-" he clicks back to the email, reading through it quickly. "Kim Y.B?"

A silence comes over the line. There’s a soft intake of breath, and when he gets a response finally he hears that her tone had changedcompletely. There's an undertone of fear in her now assertive voice. " _Of course. Mr. Kim, your reservation is for 6 O'clock PM t_ _omorrow evening_ _, and you've requested a personal waitress by the name of Kwon Mina. Is this correct_?"

Juho's heart stops at her reaction and her answer. This was real. Unless it was an elaborate prank, but nobody would go to such lengths for something like this. "Uh.” His body trembles, and he closes his laptop quickly, deciding it would be better to keep it closed.

" _I can't help but notice_ ," she cuts him off, speaking quietly, " _that you're not Mr. Kim_." She sounds just as afraid as Juho feels.

Juho panics. Instantly. "I'm sorry?" His voice cracks. "What do you mean?"

" _If you keep looking for him, I'll be forced to go to an extreme measure to keep you quiet. Do you understand_?"

"Yes. I'm sorry."

" _Don't miss your appointment. You don't want to know what_ -."

He hangs up, dropping the phone onto the ground. He throws his laptop to the side, immediately standing up to card both hands through his hair. Black strands fall in front of his eyes as he messes up what he’d styled before. "What the fuck."

He paces the room, avoiding the two devices on the floor completely. This had to be a joke. This was Chanhee playing a joke on him for going places he shouldn't. He had warned him, countless times, to stop going onto the dark web because something bad was going to happen to him. Was this karma or payback for worrying his younger friend? He refused to believe it wasn't one of the two.

Well, this was bad, this is what Chanhee was warning him about. But what did he expect? This was literally what he was asking for. He’d said he needed a job, and an offer had come and kicked him in the gut.

"Fuck," he turns to look outside, the neon lights of the city glimmering back at him through old, tattered blinds. Juho feels like he's being watched. He whips around, breath catching in his throat as he scans the room.

Obviously, nobody's there. He crumples to the floor, breathing heavily. His phone buzzes from in front of his bed, screen lighting up. He gasps, lunging backwards before his ringtone begins playing.

Reaching over to grab it, he's floored by the number calling him. Why wouldn't it be restricted? He answers it hesitantly, once again tapping the speaker option. "Hello?" He whispers, voice trembling.

" _Juho_."

Juho feels like he’s going to throw up. "Oh, Chanhee!" He sighs in relief, shaking his head. "It's so great to hear your voice right now. Thank fucking God-”

"- _I just saw you yesterday. Relax._ "

"Oh, of course, right."

He decides not to tell Chanhee about his situation, instead just turns the conversation as far from himself as he can. "So, what are you up to right now?"

" _Oh, currently? Nothing really, Kinda cold._ "

"Aw, kiddo," Juho pouts. "Get inside." He leans forward, burying his face in his knees as he rocks back and forth. He starts to have a breakdown as the other talks to him, but he tries to muffle the sounds of his fear with his sweatpants.

" _I would be inside if you opened up your fucking door._ "

Juho jumps up immediately, stumbling as he rushes to his front door. The call hangs up in his hand and he throws the door open, hearing the clapping of rain on the pavement before he sees it. Chanhee shoves past him into the room, shaking with his anger and the cold that wrapped around his body. "You forgot, didn't you?"

"In my defense, a lot has happened to me today." Juho tries, but Chanhee just shakes his head.

"I'm stealing a towel." Chanhee hums, ignoring him completely before dropping his backpack onto the ground. He walks to the bathroom, coming out with a white towel over his shoulders. His jacket clings to his frame, soaked from the rain. "Did you really forget? Be honest with me."

"I mean," Juho tries, raising a hand before turning to lock the front door. "No? Kind of."

"You never forget movie night!" Chanhee cries out exasperatedly, storming off to the next room to slump down on Juho's bed. "For real? We've done movie nights every other Friday for years!" He looks down, pouting. "How could you forget..?"

"I have had a lot happen to me today!"

"Bullshit!" He shouts, looking up sharply. "I know you just watched anime all day again! What was it tonight!? Angel Beats? _Clannad_!?" He spits the last name distastefully, reminding Juho painfully of the time they’d watched it together and Juho had cried into his younger friend’s shoulder for hours.

"I'm going to fucking die, Chanhee!" Juho’s too exhausted to keep up the charade, hanging his head in shame. He lifts a hand, pointing at his laptop. “I did that thing you told me not to do.” Chanhee opens his mouth to respond, but his lips come together again so he can bite the bottom one. He stills, slowly turning to look at Juho's laptop. His fingers brush over the device and he drags it into his lap, opening it and clicking away until he comes across the message Juho had received hours prior.

He reads it, re-reads it, then checks it over once more. He never looks away from the page, as if the text would vanish if his gaze skirted away. "Juho," he mutters, hands curling into fists, "what did you do?" He finally looks up then, panicked eyes glaring at his best friend. “What did you do!?”

"I've been having money problems so I posted asking for work." Just out with it, he supposes. No more lying. "Nobody around us is hiring." He sounds like an idiot when he hears himself say it.

"So you ask the plague of the internet? Instead of maybe drive a little more and find somewhere else that’s possibly hiring?”

"Yes..?"

"You're a fucking idiot."

"I know," Juho laughs, though the sound is nothing but fear and exhaustion laced into a short breath. "I couldn't think of anything else."

Chanhee sighs, setting the laptop down before cautiously shutting it. "There were so many other things you could have done. Juho, it's Friday. You have to meet this guy tomorrow."

Juho nods, paling, before shaking his head. "I'm an idiot."

"Hey." Chanhee whispers, standing up to place his hand on his friend's shoulder. "We'll figure this out. We've dealt with worse, right? You and me, we'll handle this."

Juho sighs, agreeing, but knows deep down that he's about to cross a border that will drop him into a completely new world, and he will never be able to return to his first.

 

* * *

 

"I'm surprised you actually decided to come," the stranger smiles, seated in the booth Juho had been told to go to by the waitress the moment he walked in; in the back, secluded from the rest. Private. The lights are a dim red, illuminating the man’s face with a hollow glow. "It's not everyday people as desperate as you seem show up on my radar," he raises his hands defensively, mockingly, "no offense, of course."

"I get it," Juho nods. He _was_ desperate. He slips into the booth slowly, crossing his legs at the ankles. He tries not to let the other see how badly he’s shaking. "So let's talk."

"Right to the point!" The other smiles, and Juho seems to finally notice his appearance for the first time. Bright brown eyes, andwith soft looking hair that loops around his ears, every strand curling perfectly, he looks innocent. It’s an obvious facade; Juho was here for something twisted. "I'm Kim Youngbin, but please call me Youngbin." He drags out the conversation. Juho can tell he doesn't want to start with the work yet. He has an introduction to follow, and Juho oddly respects it. At the same time, though, it intimidates him.

Youngbin cocks his head to the side, his gaze lingering slowly down the other before drifting lazily back to Juho's face. He smirks. With the expression he currently wears, Juho can tell exactly what he's thinking, and he guarantees himself he doesn't like it. _You're perfect._

"I run my own business," Youngbin hums, glancing up to a waitress that approaches their table with a tray in one hand; Mina. She had greeted Juho the moment he stepped inside, guiding him to the table. She'd complimented his suit. "It's risky shit, but it's worth it."

Pausing, Juho can tell Youngbin's waiting for him to ask for more information. He's clearly satisfied when no questions arise, a happy grin crossing his features. "You'd be safe with us. Guaranteed housing, guaranteed security..." Mina sets two drinks down in the middle of the table before leaving, a weight seeming to lift from her shoulders the moment she's away from Youngbin. As she leaves, her fingers drag against one glass. Youngbin catches the motion, watching her carefully. He motions to the drinks, beckoning for Juho to take his. Hesitantly, he does, taking the one Youngbin had kept his eyes on.

Taking a slow sip of it, the overpowering taste of alcohol flows past Juho’s lips. It burns his throat as he swallows it. He makes eye contact with Youngbin, who raises an eyebrow at him. He takes it as a challenge, cautiously setting the drink down. He wasn't going to let his guard down by getting into a one sided drinking match. "What do you need me for?" He cuts the other's presentation short, cautiously crossing his arms in front of his chest.

The mask falls. Youngbin's eyes darken, lips twitching into a tight frown. "Would you be capable of smuggling drugs?"

The question takes Juho by surprise. A drug mob, that was it? Honestly, he was expecting something more serious from the tone of Youngbin's response. "Sure."

That couldn't have been the only thing Juho needed to do for Youngbin to be given the amount of money offered. There was something dark and dirty hiding beneath the front of drug smuggling. Something sheltered and protected. Juho waits for the other shoe to drop.

"Okay," Youngbin nods, grabbing his drink to take a swig of it after circling around his glass for a moment, watching the liquid curiously. "What about something else?"

"Are you, like, asking to fuck me or something?" Youngbin chokes. Juho's appalled that the statement had left his mouth. Where had that come from? He hadn't drank enough to make himself this bold. "Because, I'm not looking for that." He’s even more shocked that he keeps going.

"No." Youngbin answers flatly, his face remaining stoic though Juho can't help keep an embarrassed tint from staining his cheeks red. His eyelids droop a bit, and he figures it's because he'd stayed up late the night before from the anxiety of what was to come the next night. "But I'd rather keep the rest hidden until I know if I can trust you."

Juho cocks his head to the side. "And how will you determine that?"

Youngbin hums, shrugging. His gaze flits to Juho's glass. "You've already trusted me," he laughs coldly, reaching next to himself to grab a jacket. Black, leather, Juho finds himself focusing on every little detail he can. "And I took advantage of that trust," Youngbin hums as he pulls on the jacket, zipping it up over the dress shirt he's wearing, "I'm sorry."

It hits him too slowly, what the other meant. Juho pales. The exhaustion, the way his vision had begun to spin… The way Youngbin had been so cautious with his drink, the way Mina had touched the glass… "You," he starts, sputtering in disbelief, "you fucking drugged me?" His hands tremble with the realization, lips parting with fear. "You drugged me." He needs to repeat it to fully let it settle within himself. He truly can't believe that, on a business meeting, he'd been drugged.

First for everything, right? He should have known not to trust the drug lord.

"No need to say it so negatively!" Youngbin smirks, grabbing his own drink. He points to it. "I know mine's okay." He takes a long sip of it, never once looking away from the other's panicked features. He sets down the glass, cracking his neck. He groans, leaning back. "You'll be out in, let's say two minutes? Give or take, depending on your fight. The shit in there is pretty strong.”

So this was a test. Juho takes in a shaky breath, closing his eyes to try and steel himself. He’s terrified that there’s no way he’s making it out of this restaurant alive. He cracks an eye open, taking a look at the other. Strong, cocky; aware. Every movement Juho makes, Youngbin registers it completely. Every little shake or change in Juho's features, Youngbin chases with his eyes, knowing everything the other does moments before he does it.

The anxiety sets in a moment later. Chanhee was right. Juho feels his chest clench in fear, and he leans back into the booth to try and separate himself from Youngbin's piercing gaze as much as he can. He should have never posted anything. He should have looked, again, for a regular job, instead of going through with this. Should have been okay going the few extra miles to and from work. He feels himself slowly drifting, and grabs his thigh to dig his nails into to keep himself awake. The pain forces him to brush off the effects for another moment; he _had_ just gotten some black acrylic nails from the store to glue on to complete his outfit, and he's oddly satisfied with the way they scratch against his skin through his pants and keep him awake.

Youngbin grins at him. His face distorts in Juho's vision. "So you _are_ a fighter."

Juho's tongue feels like lead in his mouth, and he can't open his mouth to respond. He feels blood bubble past his fingertips, yet his eyes close regardless of the pain he suddenly can't feel, and his breath evening out is the last thing he's able to register before an inky blackness pools around his consciousness, dragging him down into the depths to hold him hostage, under the influence of the drugs he was too stupid to watch out for.

"You really are fucking perfect."

-

Juho wakes up tucked firmly in his own bed, his blankets smothering him. He shoves them off groggily, head spinning from the effort. His vision swims black for a moment, and he lets out a worried cry as he grips the bed to still himself. The events from the night come rushing back to him, hitting him in waves.

He had to call the police, right? It was the only thing he could think of. He’d gotten himself into something dangerous, and now he needed to make sure he wasn’t involved again.

When he's able to bring himself to stand, he begins to look for his phone. He feels sick, his body still trying to push out the drugs that had assaulted him mere hours before. He’s shocked that he’d recovered so quickly, or at least that it seemed he had. His perception of time is still rather fuzzy.

The sight of his phone fills him with comfort, and he rips it out from the stack of papers it's hiding under in the corner of his room.

When he realizes he hadn’t been the one to leave the papers there, he sluggishly grabs one, squinting to read the words on it. His head hurts, and there’s a fire crackling behind his eyes.

**SURNAME: KIM**

**FIRST NAME: YOUNGBIN**

**D/O/B: NOVEMBER 23RD, 1993 (CURRENTLY 25 Y/O, AS OF NOVEMBER 29TH.)**

**BLOOD TYPE: AB**

**WORK ADDRESS: XXXX,XXXXX,0000**

**HOME ADDRESS: XXXX,XXXXX,0000**

**HOME PHONE: XXX-XXX-XXXX**

**WORK PHONE: XXX-XXX-XXXX**

Atop is a sticky note, labeled with a cheeky ' _Do your worst_ '. Juho crumbles it up and throws it to the side, grabbing the next sheet of paper, which seems to list whatever he’d put into Juho’s drink. The names all seem foreign to him, and he decides it’s useless for him to look further through the stack.

Youngbin was smart. Obviously capable of avoiding the police, if he was confident enough to leave every bit of information that could identify him with somebody he'd just drugged. He was easily able to outwit the authorities _and_ Juho if he didn't play his cards right.

Juho _could_ call the police, and they would know exactly where to find Youngbin. They would shut down his whole operation instantly, and take everyone involved into custody. Juho would be protected. _Or_ , he could take the 900,000$+ that Youngbin was so kindly offering for just a _bit_ of smuggling.

He decides to make a quick list, slumping back against the wall. He tiredly lays the sheet on his lap, setting his phone down next to him. He doesn’t even check the time, not finding it concerning anymore. The pros of calling the police were that he'd be safe, protected, and a drug mob would be off of the streets. But the cons would be that he wouldn't get 900,000$, and Youngbin and his entire gang would want him dead. Obviously, one side is favorable to the other. And it isn't the side that he feels comfortable choosing, but it’s his best bet to being _actually_ safe.

He sighs, grabbing his phone. "Option two it is," he whispers, his voice raspy as he's still waking up, his throat feeling raw from the drink he’d had before winding up back in his bed. He folds the paper and rips it into pieces, letting each tear fall from his hands to the floor. It was only a bit of smuggling, how bad could it really be?

Juho lays back tiredly against the wall, finding himself falling asleep once again. He was exhausted, his eyes closing steadily as he lets out a breathy sigh. He wouldn't call the police. He would join Youngbin.

He had no idea how bad things were about to get for him. If he had known, he would have turned and run from the city, never turning around because of the demons that were bound to chase him. He falls asleep oblivious, happy inside the hole he's unknowingly dug himself into, unaware that he's going to be buried alive.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is a rewrite of the original first chapter! i know the writings kind of shit here but it improves in chapter three TT__TT which will be posted very shortly


	2. Chapter 2

The next day, Juho finds himself waiting at a cafe for Youngbin to arrive, nervously tapping his fingers along his laptop. He reads over their conversation from the morning again and again, every moment growing more impatient with the other's absence. Shouldn’t somebody running a business like this at least be punctual?

**KYB: You didn't call the police.**

**BJH: no, i knew better than to do that**

**KYB: Smart. I like you already!**

**BJH: k**

**KYB: I have to run, so please meet me here at 12:00PM [LINK] [OPEN ON MAPS?]**

**BJH: what should i bring/wear?**

**KYB: Bring whatever you desperately need. I'm taking you to the compound after our meeting. Wear whatever you find comfortable, and don't be intimidated by me like the first meeting, please. We're going to be working together, you and I should be friends.**

**BJH: Okay.**

**KYB: *Sir**

**BJH: Okay, sir.**

**KYB: Nah I'm fuckin with you lmao. Drop the sir.**

He still feels sick from the night before, the drugs still lingering in his system. He’s drowsy, but he tries not to let it affect him. He’s a bit dizzy as well, but he’s sure the feeling will fade soon.

Juho leans back in the uncomfortable wooden chair he occupies, watching the door with a hooded gaze. A waitress comes over to refill his coffee, and he pushes his computer screen down so she won't see the opened conversation. She smiles at him, not saying a word as she pours the hot coffee into Juho’s mug. When she leaves he calls out a quick thanks before looking to the window next to his table, staring out at the street.

The door chimes when it opens, and Juho's heart begins pounding when he recognizes Youngbin. There's a blonde at his side, looking over his shoulder every so often on their way to him. Juho pulls his laptop into his arms nervously as he clears up space on the table. The blonde stands while Youngbin sits, and the brunette slides off a backpack Juho hadn’t realized he’d been carrying.

"Morning, Juho."

"Youngbin."

The brunette smiles, something dark lurking beneath his bright brown eyes. "Are you ready to start working?"

"Who's he?" Juho ignores the question, jutting his thumb out to point at the stranger. "I was under the impression we'd be meeting alone."

Shrugging, Youngbin pulls a stack of papers out of his bag. "That's Dawon. He follows me around."

"Is that an alias?"

"Yes."

The conversation dies there, Juho shrinking away under Dawon's scrutinizing glare. He must have been there to be a bodyguard, to make sure Juho wouldn't try anything. Youngbin slides the papers to Juho, then begins rifling through his things for a pen. "I know it's in here somewhere..." He mutters absently, before finally letting out a small "ah!" when he pulls it out. "Here."

He reads the contract carefully, not finding anything he didn't expect until he reaches the fourth page.

**I HEREBY GIVE FULL PERMISSION TO LEE JAEYOON TO MAKE ANY MODIFICATIONS TO MY PERSON AS HE SEES FIT.**

**SIGN HERE X__________________________**

**I HEREBY GIVE PERMISSION TO LEE JAEYOON TO OPERATE ON MY PERSON AS HE SEES FIT, INCLUDING THE IMPLANTATION OF PROGRAM 007, GIVEN THE CURRENT NAME 'ZUHO'. I WILL BE TRACKED AND MONITORED CAREFULLY.**

**SIGN HERE X__________________________**

"Sorry, what?" Juho flips the paper towards Youngbin, pointing at the sections with the tip of his pen. "What does that mean?"

Youngbin glances up at the waitress that approaches them, smiling softly. Dawon turns to her and jumps into a conversation, drawing her attention away from the table. He lets her know they won't be there for long and that they don't plan on buying anything. Youngbin explains while the threat of being overheard is minimized.

"We'll start with the second one," Youngbin points to it, pushing the pen away with his finger. "Basically, you're going to be like him." He cocks his head towards Dawon, who's still invested in his conversation with the seemingly bored waitress. Her eyes dart to the back counter to try and grab the attention of her coworker so she can leave the uninteresting conversation behind politely. "So you'll be fine, but you're just going to have a little implant in your neck."

Why this doesn't surprise Juho, even he doesn't know. Really, he should have gotten up and left. Realistically, that was an obviously better option than staying. But he just rests his cheek in his palm, frowning. "What's it going to do?"

"Track you," Youngbin offers, turning the paper back around, "nothing too bad. Keep track of your vitals, primarily."

There's something he isn't saying. Dawon takes a protective step towards Juho once the girl leaves, turning towards him. "Only say yes if you're comfortable with it, okay?" He suddenly speaks, and Juho’s shocked at how soft Dawon’s voice sounds.

Hesitantly, Juho reads over the page once again, checking for anything he may have missed before. He scribbles his signature down for the second section, before looking back up to Youngbin worriedly. "And what's the first one?"

Drawing his lips into a tight line, Youngbin looks up to Dawon for an explanation. Dawon glares at him, pouting. "What, do you want me to lie?" When Youngbin continues staring at him, Dawon sighs. "Fine, fuck, okay." He crouches down next to Juho, reading over the heading quickly. "Oh, _oh_ , that's not that bad," he hums, looking up to the other, "it's just in case you get hurt, or to make adjustments to the chip. It's not bad." He stands back up.

Juho nods, signing on the first line slowly. When he flips the page and is met with an unmarked sheet, he slides it back to Youngbin. "I'm trusting you here," he laughs nervously, reaching for his coffee mug. "Please don't make me regret it."

Dawon looks down guiltily. Youngbin smiles at the youngest, shooting him a small thumbs up. "It's all good."

Juho takes an awkward sip of his coffee, not enjoying the silence that falls over the group after Youngbin finishes speaking. “So… Drugs.” Juho nods, setting his mug back down. Youngbin just stares at him, raising an eyebrow.

"Should we get going?" Dawon cuts off Juho before he can say anything else that he and Youngbin will likely deem stupid, grabbing the boy's backpack from off of the floor. "I'll carry this for you." He slips it onto his shoulders, leaving before either of the two seated at the table can oppose. Youngbin grabs his own bag, following quickly after the other with Juho at his heels.

The brunette holds the door open for him, falling in step beside the youngest as they follow Dawon down the street. "So, we'll get you set up tonight, introduce you to the others."

"How many?"

"Huh?" Youngbin turns to him, blinking. "Oh! Six others like Dawon, then there's Jaeyoon, Taeyang, and a few smugglers." Before Juho can question him further, he raises a hand. "Let's worry about everything after you're all set up, okay?"

 

* * *

 

 

"Is this a mistake?" Juho watches Dawon drop his bag onto the bed Youngbin had said was his, staring at it from the doorway. A _bed_. Not just the mattress on the floor he was used to, but an actual bed. With a frame. "Like, you're sure this is _my_ room?"

Dawon bites back a laugh, rolling his shoulders back to relieve them of some of the tension they'd had in them from carrying the younger's bag for so long. "We all get rooms like this. Just relax."

Youngbin places a hand on Juho's shoulder, guiding him into the room. "There's a bathroom down the hall, closet's there," he points to a door at the other side of the room, "it's not a walk-in, I just wanted the door there so it looked fancy. Uh," he looks around for anything else, "if you need something or want something... Just let me know. I noticed you had a stack of books in your apartment when I brought you back last night?"

Nodding, Juho confirms and Youngbin continues. "Well, we have some spare shelves so if you want I'll bring you one. I don't think we have much for reading around here, though... Guess we'll have to go out sometime." He smiles, taking his hand away from the other. "I'll give you some time to get used to things. The halls aren't too confusing, but if you need, Dawon's number is in your phone."

"When did you-?"

"Bye!"

Leaving, Dawon and Juho stand silently next to each other.

"So," Juho tries, but is cut off by the other.

"My name's Sanghyuk."

His voice is quieter, and his shoulders had dropped from the defensive position they'd had before. "You don't have to call me Dawon." He laughs, looking down. "I'd prefer Sanghyuk, anyway."

It was as if he was looking at a completely different person. Sanghyuk had completely wiped away the menacing aura from before and had replaced it with something softer. "Uh," he nods, "yeah, of course. Sanghyuk." Juho stares at him, shock written across his face. The name suited him.

After another moment of silence, Sanghyuk grins at him. "I'll take you on a little tour when you're ready. Just shoot me a text, I'll be around." Walking away, he stops in front of the door. Then, quietly, he whispers one last thing. "Youngbin lied to you."

"Sorry?" Juho turns to him, having only caught the first part of the sentence.

Looking over his shoulder, Dawon shrugs. "Youngbin wasn’t exactly honest. It does get pretty confusing in here."

Juho watches him leave before going to his bag, dumping out the contents over the black comforter it lays on. His laptop, clothes, his phone and various chargers fall out of it and onto the bed, and he blinks at the items. He'd definitely packed much too little, but he supposes it doesn’t matter. Youngbin had offered to take him out soon, and with what he’s being payed for this job, he could spare a little on clothes and other things.

It takes him no time to put his clothes away and to find a port to plug his phone into, and after it’s plugged in he turns to look around his room. There's the closet, which he'd hung up his few clothing articles in, a large window overlooking the city, and a dresser next to the door.

The base was located, shockingly, directly behind the restaurant Juho had met Youngbin in the night prior. Leaving through a back door in the restaurant had lead the group into an alley blocked off from the city by a high wire fence, topped off with barbed wire that reminded Juho of a prison. Following the alley lead to what Youngbin had said was the only entrance to the compound, large windows bordering every floor. There had to have been at least ten, Juho figured as he'd stared up at it, before Dawon had nudged him towards the door.

Juho shakes his head, sighing as he sits on the edge of his bed. He'd have to get used to this somehow. This was his new home, and these were his new friends, as much as he didn't trust them. He'd have to grow used to and closer to them.

There was no turning back now.

His phone chimes, and he reaches over to grab it from the floor.

**DAWON: u ready yet? im bored.**

**ME: i thought you said you'd wait**

**DAWON: BUT IM BORED.**

**ME: okay, okay, let's go**

Not even a minute later Sanghyuk has thrown open the door, barreling inside to collect Juho. "Let's go!" He shouts, holding the other's hand while dragging him out of the room and down the hall. He points to the room at the end of the hall, not stopping to let Juho take a look, "that's the bathroom."

"Thanks for that," Juho mutters, and Sanghyuk squeezes his hand a bit tighter.

"You're welcome!"

He was a completely different person now. Was Dawon just a mask that he put on to cope with his job? Would Juho need to do the same? He doesn't like the idea of it, not in the slightest.

Sanghyuk pokes his head into a room, grinning happily when he sees somebody he knows. "Hey, 'Young." Turning towards Juho, he points to the room with his free hand. "Kitchen. You want to say hi?"

Juho looks inside at the brunette sitting at the table, focused intently on his laptop. He looks up and, at the sight of Juho, his features soften kindly. "You're the new guy?"

"Uh, yeah, I guess so."

"My names Jinyoung," he stands up, walking over to Juho to shake his hand. Then, noticing Sanghyuk's fingers interlaced around Juho's, he scoffs. "Already picking favorites, Dawon?"

Sanghyuk bristles. "Don't call me that."

Watching the two in confusion, Juho pouts. "I thought that was your alias."

Sanghyuk's smile comes out as forced. "You're right, that's my alias. I just don't like going by it when I'm not working, you know?"

Jinyoung gapes. "Does... Does he not know?" There's a pause, and he continues. "Fuck! How could you not _tell_ him?" Jinyoung grabs Juho's shoulders, eyes widened with panic. "What did they tell you?" At Juho's lack of words, he lets out a small cry of disbelief. " _Please_ tell me you didn't sign anything..."

Sanghyuk rips his hand away from the younger, slapping it against Jinyoung's mouth. "Stop, fuck! Just shut up for a minute!"

Juho takes a step back, sliding easily away from Sanghyuk. "What's he talking about?"

Sanghyuk laughs, pauses, then shakes his head. His eyes fill with sorrow, and he bites back the words he can't bring himself to say. Jinyoung presses his hands to his face, sighing into his palms slowly.

Letting out a soft groan, Dawon rolls his eyes and throws his head back. "I thought I had more time to get you introduced to everything before I had to bring you to Jaeyoon..."

Jinyoung shoves Dawon off of himself, his words laced with venom. "I can't fucking believe you'd let Youngbin convince you into bringing other people here after what happened with me."

"Bite me."

Juho wants to ask another question to Jinyoung, about what he was talking about and why he seemed so put off by the notion of a contract. He can't, however, as Dawon grabs his arm harshly, dragging him down the hallway once again. Only this time, there's no comfort in the gesture, only a subdued rage that Juho was familiar with from the cafe. "We're getting your implant."

"Right now?" Juho tries to tug his arm away, but Dawon holds it firmly, nodding. He feels as if he shouldn't argue, as if struggling will lead to Dawon attacking him.

Sanghyuk gasps, doubling over in pain when the two arrive in front of a door labeled with a small 'JAEYOON :D' in red sharpie above the doorknob. Every breath he sucks in and chokes out, shaking.

"Are you alright?" Juho murmurs, placing a hand gently on his back, wide, worried eyes staring at him.

There's no answer, but the door does fly open and nearly knock Sanghyuk into the wall. "Juho!"

"Hi?" Taking a look into the room, it looks just like any regular doctor's office. Save for the wall of computers and monitors towards the back, and the chair against the wall with wires and tubes attached to it. A monitor is connected to the headrest of the seat, and an ominous red light blinks on the side of it.

Assuming that the shorter man with pink hair is Jaeyoon, Juho cautiously enters the room. Sanghyuk follows him, swaying lightly. Jaeyoon tuts at him. "I told you to stop switching." He places his hands on his hips, frowning. “Youngbin really doesn’t take it easy on you...”

"I couldn't control it," Sanghyuk murmurs, collapsing into a red plastic chair next to the door. He leans over and shuts it, cutting off Juho's only exit. "It took over."

Jaeyoon nods. "I'll disable the program for tonight, okay? We'll see how you're feeling tomorrow and decide what to do then."

Letting his head fall to the side, Sanghyuk can only bring himself to nod weakly. Jaeyoon turns his attention to Juho, smiling kindly. "Sit down, sit down," he ushers the other to the examination table, eyeing him up and down quickly. "What did Youngbin say about him?" He turns to Sanghyuk, eyes alight with excitement.

Looking up warily, Sanghyuk shrugs. "Fighter, as soon as possible, full implementation."

"That can't be right," Jaeyoon starts, narrowing his eyes quizzically. The excitement drains from his features quickly. "Full implementation? Bullshit!" He jumps into a rant, muttering darkly to himself as he prepares something on the desk nearest to the computers. "He really just stopped caring after Taehyung, right? What a jerk..."

Juho already likes Jaeyoon. He doesn't know why, because currently he's approaching him with a syringe filled with tinted, but mainly clear, liquid and an angry expression burning on his face, but he likes him. He happily raises his arm for the young doctor when he asks for it.

"It's going to hurt, so look at me instead of the needle, okay love?" Jaeyoon pulls up the younger's sleeve, tapping his skin with his finger gently and quickly, attempting to expose his veins.

Juho obliges, forcing himself to analyze every bit of Jaeyoon's face while he feels a prick in his forearm, which turns into a harsh stinging. He winces, squinting his eyes shut. "It'll be over in a second, babe, just hold on.." Jaeyoon's hand rests on Juho's head encouragingly, and he smiles softly when he opens his eyes again. He pulls the syringe away. "We're all done."

It takes a moment for Juho to bring himself to speak again. "What was that?"

"Well, the first one was lidocaine. The second was me taking some blood, and the third was just a little something to activate the chip."

"There were three?"

"I hid two in my pocket to keep you from getting freaked out. Didn't even feel me switching them out, huh? I know, I know, I'm a fantastic doctor."

Juho can't help but laugh as he settles onto his side at the older's request, watching him grab a handful of tools from the table alongside a small computer chip that can't be any larger than his thumbnail. "Do you want me to explain first or just get it over with?" He pulls up a chair next to the table, setting his things on the side next to Juho.

Eyeing the scalpel Jaeyoon had brought over warily, Juho shies away. "Could you explain first, please?"

"Aw, of course. You're so much nicer than the others." Jaeyoon points a finger at him. "Never change." He assorts everything, picking up the chip to show the other. The paper on the table crinkles under his touch. "This is the implant, okay? I'm going to put it in the back of your neck, and it contains a program which will advance your body and mind so you're better equipped to fight. I’ll be able to activate it through that computer over there,” he juts a thumb towards the chair across the room, “so we’ll go over there after I put the implant in.”

Juho stares at him with a monotonous expression. Then, with a matching voice, he asks, "isn't it just a tracker?"

"Oh, so Youngbin lied to him too!?" Jaeyoon shouts at Sanghyuk, stomping his foot on the floor. "Did Juho meet Changkyun yet!? They're going to be best friends, let me tell you, with how much Youngbin's already fucked them over."

Sanghyuk whines, covering his ears. "I have a headache..."

"Oh, sorry love." Jaeyoon blushes apologetically before turning back to the younger, dropping his tone, which rises every time he has an outburst. "Youngbin didn't tell you the whole truth, so, yes, you will be tracked with this. Along with being watched, and helped. I'm assuming you met Dawon?"

"He's right there, so obviously."

"No, not Sanghyuk," Jaeyoon laughs, kicking off of the floor so his chair rolls across the room. He grabs his glasses off of the counter before walking himself back over in his seat, the chair squeaking as it moves. " _Dawon_. Sanghyuk's program."

So, it was a different personality. This makes no sense to Juho whatsoever. "I'm lost."

Jaeyoon's dimples sink in further as he smiles wider with embarrassment. He'd always been awful at explaining things. "This implant contains a program, an AI, that will be able to control your body if you allow it to. If you don't you will still be able to use its advancements, but not as efficiently as it can. Yours is named Zuho, as I wasn't feeling very creative this morning while I was writing out your contract." He grabs the scalpel from the table, pushing a strand of hair back behind his ear. "Can you turn over for me, love?"

Cut off from asking anything further, Juho slowly rolls over onto his side, not feeling when the blade slices through the skin on the back of his neck. He lets his gaze wander over to a poster on the wall depicting some cartoon character sneezing into a tissue. Jaeyoon took this whole doctor thing seriously, considering he was working primarily for a drug mob. Juho doesn’t understand _any_ of this, and trying to work it out makes him even more confused.

"Almost done," Jaeyoon assures kindly, finding what he needs to stitch up the wound. Juho feels his eyes begin to shut, and his stomach turns. He can’t feel any pain from his nape, where Jaeyoon inserts the needle, but he can feel his skin being pulled taut as the wound is closed. Nausea forces him to slow his breathing, and it becomes ragged as he tries to steel himself.

Sanghyuk decides to come over, leaning down to watch the rest of the quick procedure. "How is he already rejecting it?"

"No idea." Jaeyoon whispers, gathering everything into his lap when he's finished. “Um… lift him up, help me bring him over there.”

Juho whimpers when he feels somebody’s arms slide underneath him, and when he cracks an eye open he’s met with the sight of Sanghyuk’s concerned face. “You don’t look too good,” Sanghyuk murmurs, before easing Juho down into the black chair against the wall.

Jaeyoon nudges Sanghyuk to the side, leaning over Juho before quickly pushing another needle into his arm. The younger gasps, trying to tear his arm away before Sanghyuk grabs his wrist, forcing it down against the arm of the chair. Whatever Jaeyoon pushes into his veins through the tip of the needle _burns_. Juho writhes underneath the other, trembling. “Stop!” He sobs, the burning spreading through his body, becoming so unbearable tears spring from his eyes and he wails, thrashing in an attempt to get the needle out. “Fucking stop!”

Just as quickly as the burning had poisoned him, it stops. Everything stops at once, and Juho’s left with tears silently streaming down his face as Jaeyoon pulls the needle away from him.

The two above him begin speaking, but Juho can’t make out a word that they’re saying. He feels like he’s underwater; the others’ words are just garbled to him. Juho tries to sit up, but he feels glued down, unable to do much but blink. He’s not even sure if he’s able to speak.

He closes his eyes, his shallow breaths evening out until he’s only able to focus on how deep and peaceful they are.

Something’s horribly, horribly wrong.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ♡♡♡  
> HI . I HAVEN'T WORKED ON THIS FIC IN A H O T MINUTE  
> thank you so much for reading !!! ♡ i love you so much :( please always be happy  
> this fic is probably really hard to follow so H i'm SORRY it'll start making more sense really soon :( ♡
> 
> EDIT: i love you im sorry i promise the writing gets better next chapter :(


	3. Chapter 3

Juho wakes up to the whirring of a computer and an unbearable headache.

He’s alone in some dark, uncomfortably small office. After a few moments of looking around, he remembers that it’s Jaeyoon’s office. Juho takes a slow breath in, whining when he feels it burn his throat. “Fuck...”

Still practically unable to move, Juho just rolls onto his side. He’s laying on the examination table, somebody’s jacket wrapped snugly around him. A blanket lays deserted on his lap, and he tries to reach for it, but is unsuccessful in doing so. He pouts, burying his face into the collar of the jacket in an attempt to keep himself warm.

Chills had set in over his body, and he’s thankful for whoever thought to lend him the article. It smells like vanilla and cigarettes, and though Juho hated tobacco, the smoke embedded in the fabric oddly calming.

“You’re awake.”

Juho jumps at the sudden voice, turning quickly to see a boy leaning against the wall. A silver earring dangles from one ear, and a row of black studs line the other. His hair is long, unkempt and freshly bleached. Juho can tell; his roots don’t show anywhere. “Who...” He can barely get the one word out, and refuses to try for any more. The pain is too much; he squints his eyes shut and tries to focus on anything but the awful aching.

“I’m Hyojong.” The boy replies simply. “Jaeyoon wanted me to watch you while he got a few hours of sleep, he’s been watching you since four this morning.”

The room is dark, but Juho can still make out how hollow the other’s face looks when he opens his eyes again. He’s exhausted; dark crescents hang underneath his eyes, and his cheeks look sunken in. He’s like a ghost, hovering at the side of the room with his arms crossed.

“What’s that look for?” Hyojong frowns.

“Aren’t you tired?”

Juho speaks through the pain, knowing that the tension filled silence would be worse than the pain. Hyojong shrugs, letting his arms fall to his sides.

“I am.”

“Then you should sleep,” Juho mumbles, smiling, “I won’t tell.”

Hyojong shakes his head, his face void of any emotion as he shrugs. “I don’t really sleep.” At the confused look on Juho’s face, he smiles faintly. “I have night terrors.”

“That sucks.”

“I know, right?” The other’s demeanor slowly shifts, the cold attitude he’d had before melting slowly into something softer, more welcoming towards the other. “It's fucking horrible.”

Juho’s eyes begin to close, and he tries to keep them open to keep talking to Hyojong. Though, after he feels himself sink further into the jacket around him, he decides it isn’t worth it to force himself to stay awake.

He falls into an uncomfortable, quiet sleep.

 

* * *

 

 

The next time Juho wakes up, he feels somebody carrying him. He shifts uncomfortably, craning his neck upwards in an attempt to see who’s holding him.

Sanghyuk glances down at him, smiling when he meets the other’s confused gaze. “Jaeyoon had some appointments today, so he wanted me to take you back to your room.”

Deciding he doesn’t want to see if he was still in pain when he spoke, Juho just nods and closes his eyes again, focusing on the way his legs dangle from Sanghyuk’s arms. His mind wanders, never staying on one specific topic as it jumps and fades into another. He’s exhausted, but he’s sure he’d slept for most of the day. It felt late.

Whatever Jaeyoon had done to him, Juho hated it. He hates that he agreed to this job, and hates that he’d been given no other choice. He feels weaker than he ever had before, just barely hanging onto the cusp of being awake, dangerously close to falling unconscious once again.

Soon, Sanghyuk shifts Juho again in his arms, and the younger hears a door being pushed open. He doesn’t open his eyes as he feels Sanghyuk let go of him slowly, laying him down on top of a soft blanket. “Do you want me to stay?”

Hesitantly, Juho nods. He stays still as Sanghyuk slides a blanket over him, only opening his eyes when he hears the other sigh softly. Sanghyuk sits against his bed, already holding his phone in his hands.

There’s something being tracked on Sanghyuk's phone screen. He watches a red dot blink through what looks like a maze, stopping every so often before disappearing. The sight of it makes Juho’s skin crawl; he doesn’t know what it is, or what it’s for, but it doesn’t look good.

Nervously, Juho reaches forward, and Sanghyuk absently reaches up and links their fingers together. “You okay?” The blonde mumbles, turning to look over his shoulder at the other. “Do you want some water?”

Juho feels as if he’s asking too much from the other, but nods nonetheless, an apologetic glint in his eyes. Sanghyuk stands up, setting his phone on Juho’s nightstand before he leaves the room.

Curiously, the younger makes sure the other’s left the room and shut the door before he reaches over and picks up his phone. Sanghyuk had locked it, but when Juho turns it on, he notices the wallpaper on Sanghyuk’s phone screen is a selfie of himself and Youngbin, in which Sanghyuk has black hair and Youngbin’s is an oddly dyed red. It’s uneven, some pink flowing through the red strands, but it oddly suits him.

From what he’d assumed earlier, Juho realizes he’d been correct. It’s just passed two in the morning; nearly a day had passed since his interaction with Hyojong. He sets Sanghyuk’s phone back down slowly, just at the same time his bedroom door creaks open. Sanghyuk comes back inside, holding a full glass of water in one hand while his other holds a bundle of clothes.

“I stopped by my room really fast,” his tone is apologetic, but Juho just shakes his head.

“You didn’t take long at all.”

“I’m glad,” Sanghyuk absently sets the glass down next to his phone, taking a step away before peeling off his shirt, sliding on the one he’d carried into the room with him. In the brief moment his skin is exposed, Juho notices a dark, curling tattoo around the other’s hip. A scar lines it, disrupting the ink, destroying the pattern permanently.

Sanghyuk changes into sweats quickly, and Juho reaches over to grab his water as Sanghyuk comes back. He takes a sip of it, wincing at how the cold shocks his burning throat before he sets it back down. He’s shocked he still feels so horrible.

Nausea seems to spring up the moment he lays back, and he stills himself immediately, hoping the feeling will subside on its own. It does, but as soon as it does another burst hits him, and he twists onto his side as he wills himself to calm down. He isn’t sure if it’s the stress building that draws the feeling, but wouldn’t be shocked if it was.

Sanghyuk jumps forward, away from Juho. “Are you about to throw up?”

“I dunno...”

“Fuck,” Sanghyuk hisses, carding a hand through his hair. “Do you want a bucket or something?”

The feeling slowly dies down, so Juho shakes his head. “I’ll be okay.”

“Are you sure?”

“Mm...” Juho nods, pushing the blankets down off of himself. They’d gotten hotter, and his forehead glistens with a sheen of sweat. “I’m okay.”

Sanghyuk slowly slides back, but keeps a safe distance between himself and the bed. He sits facing it, leaning back on his hands. “You don’t look okay.”

“I’m trying to stay positive.” Juho mutters, sitting up slowly. A dull ache flits through his back, and he brings a hand to his shoulder blade in an attempt to soothe the feeling. Sanghyuk watches the movement, frowning. “What?”

“How bad does it hurt?”

“Not… Not really that bad.” Juho answers, flushing when the other suddenly stands up and steps closer to him, leaning down close to his face. “What are you doing?”

Without saying another word, Sanghyuk brings a hand up and attempts to strike Juho, his hand stopping just an inch away from his cheek.

Juho’s hand had shot up and grabbed the other’s wrist, hindering him motionless with Juho’s fingers wrapped around his arm. “So it’s already setting in,” Sanghyuk murmurs, pulling his hand away slowly. “Sorry, just had to check.”

“What...” Juho tears his own hand down, cradling it to his chest. He hadn’t realized Sanghyuk was about to hit him, he had no way of reacting fast enough to stop the blow. He looks up quickly to the other, eyes widened. “Was that what Jaeyoon did?”

“No, it’s what he put in your head.” Sanghyuk presses his finger to the other’s forehead, pushing him back slowly. “Since it’s already starting to work, you shouldn’t feel sick for much longer.”

“What’s it going to do?”

“Do you want me to be honest?” Sanghyuk sits down in front of Juho, his feet planted on the floor beside the bed. His phone buzzes from where he’d left it on the floor, but he ignores it. “Completely honest?”

Juho nods, moving to give the other more space. Instead of feeling hot, a chill has now set in over his spine. It races down his skin, leaving goosebumps raising on his arms and neck.

Sanghyuk looks around, as if the shadows plan on springing to life and attacking them. He looks down, picking at the blankets with his fingers as he begins speaking. “Youngbin sells a lot of risky shit. There’s drugs involved, but that’s all just a front. We have dealers, but even they don’t know what’s really going on here. Since you’re...” He looks back up, avoiding eye contact with Juho as his gaze slides to the wall behind him. “A _part_ of this now, you deserve to know.”

Juho holds his breath, and Sanghyuk continues. “Youngbin’s a weapons manufacturer. It’s not all he does, but it’s just an overall category for what I can describe his work as.”

“Weapons?”

“Sure, guns and bombs, but that’s just the tip of what he really has.” Sanghyuk smiles faintly, humorlessly. “We’re weapons, too.”

Juho waits for him to continue. Sanghyuk takes a breath and continues. “There’s nine of us in total, now that you’re here. We’re Youngbin’s favorite products,” he mumbles, “the chip Jaeyoon put in your neck is just a tracker and a kill switch.”

“Sorry, kill switch?” Juho pitches backwards at the word, raising a finger, “what?”

“If you step out of line, or you get taken by another gang, Youngbin has a button he can press that makes the chip explode. It explodes on its own if it’s tampered with, so taking it out isn’t an option. And, since it’s so carefully placed...” His finger trails up to the back of his neck. “It’ll kill you the moment it bursts.”

Juho stills.

“But we have an important job, so Youngbin wouldn’t want to kill us. He’d be losing his most important assets if he just took us out. We run things for him; keep him safe if this building is under attack.”

“But you called us products,” Juho starts, and Sanghyuk shakes his head.

“He’s only ever sold one of us.” Sanghyuk tries, raising a hand defensively, “Seokwoo. He sold him to another gang.”

“That was a _person_ ,” Juho’s voice raises, “he sold a _person_?”

“A _weapon_.” Sanghyuk defends. “He sold a weapon to someone willing to buy it.” Sanghyuk lowers his gaze. “It sounds cruel, but we all signed the contract and signed our lives away to him. We all got roped into this, so it’s easier to accept it than to fight it.” He raises his eyes. “I’m not heartless. I was almost sold too. I had to stoop to doing some pretty low things to stay here, Juho.”

Juho shakes his head, gripping the blankets as he tries to calm himself down. So much had just been dropped on him, it’s difficult to process it all. “So he lied?”

“Who, Youngbin?” Juho nods. “Yeah, he lied. Of course he lied; he _drugged_ you on your first meeting. How can you trust somebody like that? He’s furthering his own company by tricking a few kids stupid enough to believe him.”

“Hey!” Juho starts, “don’t start in on me like that!”

“I’m talking about all of us.” Sanghyuk hisses, “we _all_ got tricked in some way. Youngbin _killed_ people to get certain people to agree to the chip.”

Sanghyuk shakes with rage, as if he’s letting go of all of his bottled up anger as he talks to the other. He’s coming undone, eyes brimming with tears as he remembers something he’d rather not. When their gazes lock again, Juho sees the eyes of somebody who’s seen far too much, and held onto every bit of whatever it was. “I had to kill people, Juho. So many people. But it’s not _me_ killing them. It’s my body but I’m not in control, and the worst part is that the one in control _likes_ it.”

“I don’t...”

“It’s not just the chip.” Sanghyuk’s voice trembles, and he reaches forward and grabs Juho’s hand. Juho realizes it’s mainly to still himself from shaking, so he clenches the others hand and tries to help him slow his breathing. “When you’re knocked out, Jaeyoon plays with your head. He hooks you up to this computer… I don’t know what he does exactly, but it’s like he copies _you_ and then makes a new version, and just takes out what he doesn’t like and enhances what he does.”

Juho just stares at him. Sanghyuk chokes on his words, falls forwards against the other. “I told them to stop. I was the first, Juho. I’ve watched people come and go and die and I just… I can’t do this anymore.” He sobs, and Juho wraps his arms around him, tearing up at the sound of the other’s voice cracking. He’s so broken, so flawed and so open about it all so suddenly… Juho wonders when he was last able to talk to somebody like this, to open up and confess.

“I don’t know what to do...”

With his hands drawing circles over Sanghyuk’s skin, Juho tries to comfort him as much as he can. “You don’t have to deal with this alone anymore.” He closes his eyes, pulling the other closer. “I’ll help you. We’ll look out for each other, okay? I won’t let you be alone.”

Pulling away, Sanghyuk nods and wipes his eyes on his sleeve, gasping for breath for a moment before he begins to calm down. “I’m sorry...” He whispers, shaking his head as he places his hands over his eyes. “I shouldn’t have dropped all of that on you.”

“I needed to know,” Juho hums, “you told me what you had to.”

He’s terrified, but he won’t let Sanghyuk know that. He worries about everything Sanghyuk had told him. Would he need to kill somebody, too?

For a quick second, Juho’s mind flits back to Hyojong, to that dead look in his eyes as he spoke. He’d killed before too, Juho could feel it. When Sanghyuk pulls his hands away from his eyes, Juho can see that they’re bloodshot, red-rimmed from crying. His shoulders drop. “So… You were the first?”

Sanghyuk nods, calm as he speaks for just a bit longer. “Dawon was their first weapon. At first, I was just a drug dealer for Youngbin. He liked me enough to hire me for something more. He called it experimental. I took it, I needed the money.”

Juho feels that the other had come from a similar situation to his own; roped into something dangerous through something not as terrifying. “What happened next?”

“He didn’t give me any time to adjust. The moment I signed the contract, I was handed over to Jaeyoon. He fucked up while he was installing Dawon into my head. Left the emotions all there, wanted to see what would happen…” He scoffs, grinding his teeth together as he pauses. “All it did was make half of me fall in love with that fucking freak who’s doing this.”

“You love Youngbin?”

“ _I_ don’t.” Sanghyuk cuts Juho off, shaking his head feverishly. “I don’t like love. I think it’s messy, and it only leaves you open to getting hurt. Falling in love makes you lose so much, it’s just not worth it.”

Juho cocks his head to the side, curious to the other’s stand on the emotion though he didn’t mind it. In its own way, it made sense. Juho couldn’t ever imagine having that stance, though. “I don’t love him. Dawon does, but I don’t. In fact, I think part of me loving him makes me hate him even more. Feeling something take over me, watching myself fall into his arms… It’s so fucked. Because I don’t want it, but it’s going to happen anyway. I’m not the only one in my head anymore.”

Juho feels he’ll understand what Sanghyuk means soon, and dreads the moment he does.


	4. Chapter 4

“How do you feel?”

“Better.”

Juho swings his legs absently off of the side of his bed, Sanghyuk sitting up behind him. They’d fallen asleep together the night before, after Sanghyuk had finally calmed down. “Any more pain?” Sanghyuk shifts the blankets off of himself, stepping onto the cold wooden floor.

“No,” Juho murmurs, watching the other cross the room to grab his phone, “I’m feeling better.”

Sanghyuk nods, reaching a hand out towards Juho absently. The younger takes it, stepping down onto the floor. When Sanghyuk’s sure he’s alright, able to stand on his own, he lets go of him. “Let’s see what you can do, then.”

“What?”

Juho barely has time to react when Sanghyuk’s leg shoots out, knocking him to the ground. Juho falls back, slamming into the bed.

Before he can try to get up, his vision goes black.

His body stands before he tells it to, and the light floods back into his eyes when he mimics Sanghyuk, knocking the other to the floor suddenly before dropping to his knees, pinning his wrists above his head.

Breathless, Sanghyuk just smirks as he stares up at the other. Juho feels as if he’s watching the scene through a stranger’s eyes, as if a layer of glass separates him from what’s in front of him. He’s not in control anymore. “Feels weird, right?”

“Really weird.” Juho wants to stop, but his grip only tightens on Sanghyuk’s wrists when he tries to get up. “You want to keep going?” He bites his lip, dragging it between his teeth gently. Juho catches a flash of blood when Sanghyuk’s lip finally snaps back, and his eyes close for a moment before he rushes upwards, shoving the other back onto the floor.

Sanghyuk had been the one to initiate the fight, but Dawon’s the one that keeps it going. He grabs the front of Juho’s shirt and yanks him up, dropping him a moment later. “So, you’re still a little in control?”

“How do I stop it?” Juho gasps when his hands shoot up to block a strike from Dawon, and he rolls out of the way of the other’s knee when he tries to drop onto him. “Sanghyuk, how do I stop?”

“Sanghyuk’s away for a minute.” The older laughs, standing back up. Juho takes a step back, suddenly thrown back into control, the glass film shattering in front of him. He feels like he’s going to throw up, and raises a hand defensively as if that will stop the other’s advances. He’s hopeful it will, but he panics when Dawon shoves his hand down, pinning him against the corner Juho had begun to back himself into. His hand slams into the wall next to Juho’s head, and the younger looks up to him quickly. “Fight back.”

“I can’t.”

“I wasn’t asking.”

Dawon grabs Juho, twisting the both of them around before throwing the younger back onto the floor. Juho catches himself with one hand, swinging his leg out to trip Sanghyuk. He rolls over, narrowly avoiding the other slamming down on top of him. “I’m sorry!” Juho gasps, sitting up before bringing his hands to his mouth, cupping it in shock. “I’m _so_ sorry! Are you okay?”

The other blinks for a minute, and closes his eyes as he turns to look at the ceiling. “Why won’t you turn?” Sanghyuk murmurs, the fighting spirit gone from his body and actions. “Zuho won’t activate...”

Juho sighs, already exhausted though he’d just woken up. “You need to teach me how to do… All of what you just did.”

Raising a hand, Sanghyuk drops it on top of Juho’s, thumb stroking his knuckle loosely. “Of course; I’m going to train you.”

  


* * *

 

  


“Juho doesn’t need any training.”

“I’m sorry?”

The girl standing in front of the two crosses her arms. She works her jaw on a piece of gum, grinding it between her teeth. “I’ve been given orders to not let Juho train.” She blocks the door of the training room, leaned back on it.

Frowning, Juho mimics her arm movements, mocking her position as he cocks his head to the side. She clearly notices, narrowing her eyes at him. “And why’s that?”

“Youngbin’s orders. I don’t make the rules, I just enforce them.” She blows a bubble, the pink color of the bubblegum glowing in the bright lights of the hallway. When it pops, it sticks to her bottom lip, and she drags the stringy piece back with her teeth. “I’m just doing what he told me to do?”

Sanghyuk smiles. “Well, Sooyoung, maybe we can come to an agreement?” He reaches forward, placing a hand on her shoulder.

“Take your grimy fucking fingers off of me before I snap your arm like a twig.”

“Got it.” Sanghyuk tears his hand back as if he’d been burned, his smile as fake as Sooyoung’s attitude. Juho sees it drop for just a moment when Sanghyuk breaks contact with her, as if a part of her had wanted to be close to the other. Her facade builds itself back up nicely, though, and she blows another bubble past her lips. “What if _I_ just used the training room?”

“No.”

“Why not?”

Sooyoung raises her eyebrows. “Because I don’t want to let you in.”

“Fair enough,” Sanghyuk mutters, reaching over to grab Juho’s hand, “let’s just go. I’ll show you around instead, since we got cut short last time.”

Nodding, Juho can’t help to turn and look to Sooyoung. She stares back at him, eyes wide and unblinking. When Juho smiles, though, she smiles back apologetically. “Come back when Youngbin leaves, and I’ll sneak you guys in.”

Sanghyuk’s head snaps towards the girl. “You’re being nice to Juho but not to me?”

“He doesn’t annoy me.” Her sentence is punctuated by her popping her gum once again. Sanghyuk shakes his head, dragging Juho away from the girl. “Have fun, show him the library!”

Grumbling in a mocking tone, Sanghyuk repeats her last sentence before unhooking his fingers from Juho’s, stuffing his hands into his pockets aggressively. “She thinks she’s so cool...” He grumbles, storming away as Juho jogs to keep up with him. Sanghyuk’s shorter than him, yet so much faster. “Just because she’s the prized weapon… Oh, I’m Jaeyoon’s favorite!” His voice pitches up, tone high and strained as he attempts to further mock the girl they’d left guarding the training room door. His tone drops again, sulking as he stares at the floor. “She never has to go do jobs…”

“Why not?” Juho hums, folding his arms across his chest. The building was cold, rightfully so as the seasons were changing. Juho and Sanghyuk pass a window, and the former stares at how the outside of the glass fogs up. It’s hard for him to imagine that outside is colder than the inside of the dank building.

Sanghyuk shrugs, dragging his feet. “She’s one of our newest. She was brought in with our last trio, and both of the others are untrained. They’re their own unit, so one can’t go without the others.”

“Who are her partners?” Juho just feels he needs to keep the conversation alive somehow. That if he doesn’t, the two will fall apart and become uncomfortable with the silence between them.

Approaching the end of a hall, Sanghyuk stops at a stairwell. He pushes it open with his shoulder, holding it open for Juho. “Changkyun and Jinyoung.”

“I know Jinyoung...”

“Oh, yeah, you do. I can’t fucking stand him. He talks a lot of shit for somebody so new to the job. He wants to start a revolution, start an uprising against Youngbin with all of us weapons.”

The term makes Juho stiffen. Being called a weapon doesn’t sit right with him, leaves him feel less human. He’s sure if he didn’t have a bomb that could control him strapped in his skin he’d be fine with the term, but the name leaves a shadow clinging to him. “Can you stop with that?”

Loudly, the door slams behind them. Sanghyuk passes Juho, looking back at him over his shoulder as he ascends the stairs. “Stop with what?”

“Calling us weapons...”

“Well, it’s what we are.”

“I know!” Juho frowns, hesitantly stepping up behind the other. “I just… It feels bad.”

The stairwell is dark, and the air seems to be liquid as Juho breathes it in. He gags on how bad it is, but it seems Sanghyuk is unaffected. He’d made this walk thousands of times before, and would make it hundreds more. This was familiar to him. “I know, but it’s easier to get used to than thinking we’re normal.”

“Well...” Juho bites his lip. “Maybe we can just call ourselves something equally as fucked up without letting everyone else know that we know we’re fucked up?”

“The Land of Misfit Toys.” Sanghyuk whispers wistfully, earning a quiet, subdued laugh from the younger. A smile breaks across his face at the sound of the other. “What? You like that more?”

“Be serious!” Juho giggles, waving his hands in front of him as he tries to calm down his laughing. “Maybe… I don’t know, we’re all a team...”

“That’s what you think.”

“Huh?”

“ _We_ ,” Sanghyuk motions to the air around him, stopping at the next floor. A metal fence separates the two from the hole leading to the ground floor, and a gray door stands in front of them, the entrance to the second floor. The air seems cleaner. “Are not a team. Not all of us.” Juho takes a step back. “You and I, _we’re_ a team, though. I don’t give a fuck what Youngbin says, I’ll always have your back. But with the others… You need to fight for a spot at the table, I can’t just bring you there. Get it?”

Nodding, Juho can only stare. But, he doesn’t understand. They were all stuck in the same situation, all unable to leave. He wonders if it’s the fear that makes everybody hate each other, or the fact that anybody could die on any given day that keeps them all distant from each other.

He shakes his head after a moment.

“You’re the newest. You have no training, and you’re stupid.”

“Excuse me?”

“Not _stupid_ , but you have no idea how to work like this.”

Slowly, Juho agrees, albeit begrudgingly. “You’re right.”

Again, Sanghyuk shoves open the door with his shoulder. Juho doesn’t know what to expect, but at the bottom of the list of things he’s unprepared for is what he really sees. High windows with colorful curtains, plush red couches lining the wall… It looks like one of the college dorm houses he’d seen on TV growing up. Sanghyuk continues speaking as he leads Juho into the hall. “Jinyoung, Changkyun, and Sooyoung are a team. Taehyung and Jongin are another team.”

Idly, Juho thinks back to the boy he’d met in the office, when he was half asleep and burning on the inside. “What about Hyojong?”

“Don’t talk about him.” Sanghyuk starts abruptly, whipping around to face Juho. “You met him?”

“He was watching me that night...”

“God. Just, be careful, okay? Don’t talk to him or Joohyun, okay? They’re dangerous.”

Juho hadn’t viewed the other as dangerous when he met him. He silently follows after Sanghyuk, quick on the others heels as they walk. “Why?”

“Because they’re unstable. They’re not weapons; they’re fucking nukes. They’re who we send out when jobs are too messy for us. We get our hands dirty, but they...” Sanghyuk scoffs, carding a hand through his hair. “Don’t talk to them.” He finishes, not wanting to go any deeper.

Oddly, Juho’s thankful for it. He didn’t necessarily want to learn about everybody’s dark, hidden pasts just yet. He’s comfortable just knowing them on a first name basis.

Sanghyuk points to the first room to their right, waving dismissively at it with his fingers. “Library.” Juho takes a quick glance at it, eyeing the shut door before trailing after Sanghyuk.

The older continues to point out different rooms, but Juho doesn’t catch much. He’s too focused on looking around for himself, at all of the seemingly abandoned couches that sit idly around against the walls in the long corridor. They were all so dusty; as if unused for quite some time. Juho worries his fingers over his collar, toying with it gently. He begins to wonder what Chanhee had been doing, or if the younger had even noticed his friend’s absence in the past few days.

Juho can’t tear his mind from the other. It stays locked on Chanhee, only pulled away when somebody calls out to Sanghyuk from down the hall.

The older stiffens, straightening his posture immediately before stepping protectively in front of Juho.

“Sanghyuk.” Youngbin remarks, staring down at the other as he comes to stop in front of him. “You’re still going out tonight, yeah?” There’s a devious smile on his face, and Juho gently reaches forward to grab Sanghyuk’s hand, comforting him.

The movement seems to grab Youngbin’s attention, which he immediately turns to the boy behind Sanghyuk. “Oh? How are you feeling, Juho?”

His tone is sweet, alluring. Juho would melt at the sound of it if he didn’t know what the other had done prior to them meeting.

“Sanghyuk,” Youngbin hums, “bring him with you tonight.”

“What?”

“Juho should meet our broker, right? It’s only fair, he’s on our side now...” Youngbin continues, reaching towards Sanghyuk. His fingers trail down the side of his exposed arm, and Sanghyuk shivers from the contact. “Hmm, Dawon?”

Shaking his head quickly, Sanghyuk forces his eyes closed, lowering his head. “I...”

“Sanghyuk!” Juho starts quickly, pulling the other back and away from Youngbin. “You should keep showing me around… Before we have to go.” He doesn’t look at Youngbin, but he can almost feel the other’s annoyance in the air for stealing away his favorite weapon. Sanghyuk opens his eyes, looking gratefully towards Juho as he nods.

“Let’s go, then.”

 

* * *

 

  


Youngbin’s broker cloaks himself in a building that smells like sweat and sex. Cheap alcohol flows from expensive seeming bottles, and men and women wearing little to nothing flaunt themselves on a stage in front of a dense, cheering crowd.

Juho finds himself at the front of the crowd, seated next to Sanghyuk on a small couch. He tries not to focus on the dancers, embarrassed at how Sanghyuk watches, not seeming to feel remorse for how bored he appears.

“This is weird.” Juho whispers, leaning over. His voice is barely audible over the loud, thrumming music that beats through the speakers dotting the room. Juho feels the beat like a second heartbeat, feeling it pulsate through his body each time it hits the speakers. “Your broker is in a place like this?”

“He’s next.” Sanghyuk hums, leaning back. “Just wait.”

Juho hesitantly looks up when the woman leaves the stage, and he flushes when the lights go down. “I don’t like this, Sanghyuk.”

“Hmm.” The older hums, crossing his arms as he smirks. Juho shakes his head when he sees a figure step out onto the stage, slowly advancing towards a pole in the center.

He wraps a leg around it, sliding down when another, slower song begins playing over the speakers. Juho’s mesmerized by him, and finds himself leaning forward slightly when the man curls his body around the pole, shirt riding up to reveal a tattoo lining his side, dipping below his jeans; and beneath the lace fishnets underneath them.

“His name’s Taeyang,” Sanghyuk leans over, murmuring in Juho’s ear as he takes his eyes off of the other. “This is the only place we can meet him without being in an enemy gang’s territory.”

Juho just nods, not ready to stop watching Taeyang.

Their eyes meet for a moment, and the man brings a hand up, carding his slender fingers through his black hair as he stares at Juho. His gaze slips to Sanghyuk, and he lets out a small sigh as he begins walking towards their side of the stage, crouching down on the end of it.

Taeyang gestures to himself with a hand, then to Sanghyuk’s lap. Juho wants to look away but can’t, eyes glued to the curve of the other’s hips in the tight jeans he’s wearing. The outfit itself isn’t extremely revealing; a crop top, low-rise jeans, and black fishnets. Of course, the way Taeyang circles his hips, biting his lip as he coils himself like a snake ready to strike, is rather suggestive.

Unceremoniously, Sanghyuk takes a bill out of his pocket, crumpled and slightly torn, and throws it at Taeyang. The man grits his teeth, forces a smile, and climbs down the stage to give the other what he’d paid for; a shitty lap dance for a shitty tip.

“A fucking one? You’re so generous, babe.” Taeyang hisses aggressively, falling onto Sanghyuk’s lap. Sanghyuk grumbles something under his breath, grinding his teeth as he cranes his head back. “Why are you here, bastard?”

Juho smells Taeyang’s cologne the moment he collapses onto the other’s lap, and his heart beats in his throat as he stares at the way the other moves his hips, grinding and raising them haphazardly, messily. Taeyang glances at him, raising an eyebrow. “What, is he new?”

“Kind of.” Sanghyuk follows his gaze.

“He’s kind of cute.” Taeyang hums dismissively, turning around so he can press his back to Sanghyuk’s chest, leaning back so it’s easier to whisper to him without drawing attention to himself. “I have water hemlock and oleander in stock right now. And I found that runaway, but that’ll cost you extra.”

“You want me to...”

“I want 200$.” Taeyang deadpans, before slipping off of Sanghyuk and onto Juho. Juho blushes, hiding his face in his hands while Taeyang grinds down on his lap. Taeyang continues to watch Sanghyuk, eyeing him when he finally pulls out his wallet.

Eagerly, Taeyang snatches the stack of twenties when Sanghyuk finishes counting it, putting it between his teeth before he peels off his shirt. He takes the money and slides it into the waistband of his fishnets, leaning over to whisper something to Sanghyuk. Juho opens his eyes, watching the interaction carefully.

Sanghyuk pulls away, nods with satisfaction, and begins to stand up. Taeyang’s hands ghost over Juho’s thighs, and he brings his lips to the other’s ear to whisper to him. “What’s your name?”

“I...” Juho stutters, shivering when Taeyang stands up, hands finally falling onto his thighs. “I’m Juho.”

“Well, it’s nice to meet you.” Taeyang smiles, suddenly distracted by the small cluster of girls on the other side of the floor. They eye him curiously, and he sighs as he adjusts the money against his side. “Sorry you had to see me like this. Next time, I’ll be better put together.”

With that, Taeyang slips away to rake in another few dollars, a hopeful glint in his eyes as he approaches the group of girls. One of them laughs, blushing as he comes closer, and the other gracefully reaches into her pocket to draw out a handful of bills.

Sanghyuk scoffs, shaking his head slowly as he watches Taeyang work. “That kid...”


End file.
